President Fox tries to calm fears

SANTIAGO XALITZINTLA, Mexico -- Blotting out the sun, smoke from an
ancient Mexican volcano filled the skies on Tuesday over Santiago
Xalitzintla, where only a handful of residents remained in the town
situated about 64 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Mexico City.

The airport in the town of Puebla remained closed, and authorities
warned on Tuesday -- a day after the Popocatepetl
volcano erupted in a spectacular show of nature's force -- that the
crisis wasn't over,

Many of the 41,000 residents of the highest-risk zone who earlier had
refused to leave decided that finally, it was time to go. President
Vicente Fox visited residents at shelters on Tuesday, urging calm.

The volcano hurled a cloud of ash two-and-a-half miles high, but it
appeared to be blowing away from Mexico City.

Fox: Mexico City safe

Residents of Mexico City, which has a population of 20 million, are
concerned about a potential ash fall. Fox said on Monday that "no major
atmospheric effects are expected over large cities."

But the gritty volcanic dust has carmaker Volkswagen worried. Special
measures at its Mexican plant included sending all finished cars to
dealers and shipping ports.

Many residents who have refused to leave said they feared that their
homes would be looted or their livestock stolen. After the volcano awoke
in 1994, a similar evacuation was ordered. Police sent in to guard
belongings were accused by residents of looting.

'Popo's' eruption largest in centuries

The volcano "Popo," as it is known locally, was inactive from 1927 to
1994, when there was a moderate eruption. Since then it has been
increasingly active, sending up smoke and ash columns. In November 1998
the volcano spewed fragments of lava rock.